WEBVTT RELEASING LESSPRESCRIPTIONS FOR OPIOIDS TOPATIENTS DEALING WITH PAIN.>> THE CENTERS FOR DISEASECONTROL FOUND OPIOIDPRESCRIPTIONS PICKED IN 2010 ANDDROPPED OFF AFTER THAT, BUT THENUMBER OF PRESCRIPTIONS WRITTENIN 2015 WAS THREE TIMES HIGHERTHAN IN 1999.>> THE LEVEL OF OPIOID USE THATWE FOUND IN OUR REPORT WASENOUGH FOR EVERY AMERICAN TO BEON AN OPIOID MEDICINE AROUND THECLOCK FOR THREE WEEKS.>> THE CDC SAYS TOO MANY PEOPLEARE STILL BEING PRESCRIBED THEHIGHLY ADDICTIVE DRUGS, AND FORTOO LONG.HEALTH EXPERTS SAY STRONG PAINKILLERS PRESCRIPTIONS SHOULD BEGIVEN TO THOSE WITH TERMINALCANCER OR INCURABLE CONDITIONS.PEOPLE RECOVERING FROM SURGERYSHOULD BE PRESCRIBED LOW DOSESFOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.AND THOSE WITH CHRONIC BACK PAINOR ARTHRITIS SHOULD TRYALTERNATIVE PAIN MANAGEMENTMETHODS.>> THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARERESISTANT TO THIS.IT TAKES SITTING WITH THEM ANDEXPLAINING TO THEM THE RISK OFTHE MEDICATION AND THEADVANTAGES OF THE ALTERNATIVEMEDICATIONS.>> LOUISIANA HAS THESIXTH-HIGHEST OPIOID PAINRELIEVER PRESCRIBING RATE IN THECOUNTRY.THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION,GOVERNOR JOHN BEL EDWARDS SIGNEDTHREE BILLS INTO LAW IN HOPES OFCHANGING THINGS.HOUSE BILL 192, PUTS A 7-DAYLIMIT ON FIRST TIMEPRESCRIPTIONS FOR OPIODS FORMINOR PAIN.SENATE BILL 55 ENHANCESLOUISIANA'S PRESCRIPTION DRUGDATABASE PROGRAM.DOCTORS AND PHARMACISTS WILL NOWBE REQUIRED TO CHECK THEDATABASE PRIOR TO WRITING ANOPIOD PRESCRIPTION TO A PATIENT,THEY WILL ALSO HAVE TO CHECK THESYSTEM EVERY 90 DAYS IN HOPES OFCUTTING BACK ON DOCTOR SHOPPINGBY PATIENTS TRYING TO GETMULTIPLE PRESCRIPTIONS AND HOUSE BILL 490 CREATES THE13-MEMBER ADVISORY COUNCIL OHEROIN AND OPIOD PREVENTION ANEDUCATION.>> IT TAKES LOCAL, STATE, ANDFEDERAL GOVERNMENTS WORKINGTOGETHER.IT REQUIRES NONPROFITS ANDPRIVATE CITIZENS.ULTIMATELY, IT REQUIRES INSURERSAND THE MEDICAL COMMUNITYWORKING TOGETHER.

Doctors are noting that one of the ways to help address the opioid crisis may involve flushing.

While physicians have said that over-prescribing can create problems for the epidemic, many people also aren't properly getting rid of their opioid medications, an issue that creates and worsens addiction problems.

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Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center doctors found for a study published earlier this year that only 9 percent of people followed Food and Drug Administration drop-off guidelines. They also noted research from 2011 that found only 1 percent of people returned excess pills to a sanctioned drop-off facility.

“We have a huge surplus in medicine cabinets; it’s a hazard,” Stanford psychiatry professor Keith Humphreys said. “It’s like having an unlocked gun in the house.”

Studies frequently find that medications are over-prescribed and not completely used, but stockpiling them can lead to abuse by patients or others, researchers have found. Only some patients exposed to opioids turn into addicts, but another problem arises when people try to help friends or family members self-medicate a generic pain, researchers say.

Even friends can raid medicine cabinets.

While most medications should not be flushed down the toilet, state governments say, the Food and Drug Administration lists dozens of medications that can be. The list, often cited by doctors, includes such drugs as the Duragesic extended-release patch, OxyContin extended-release tablet and Percocet tablets.

Meanwhile, the epidemic seems to be reaching the same kind of crisis that AIDS was in the '90s. At its peak in the U.S. in 1995, the AIDS epidemic killed nearly 50,000 people. Based on 2015 data, fatal drug overdoses — most of which involved opioids — surpassed that number.

And the drug epidemic is also continuing to worsen, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said earlier this month. He cited preliminary 2016 data that found the number of people killed by overdoses rose to around 60,000.

"It will be the highest (drug) death toll and the fastest increase in a death toll in American history," Sessions said of the change.

Environmental, consumer concerns raised

There may be some mental resistance to flushing pills. Brandon Maughan, an emergency physician and health services researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, said in an October blog post for the university that people may balk at the idea of flushing money down the drain.

The issue still arises as people debate whether drugs should be flushed at all.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spoke about the issue in April when he advised people to use drop-off sites for unused prescription drugs. Christie, the head of President Donald Trump's newly created opioid commission, told reporters that pills shouldn't be flushed down toilets, citing environmental concerns.

Many environmentalists and other groups, such as the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, recommend never flushing drugs down the sink or toilet. The research and manufacturers group does note FDA's list of exceptions, though.

A University of Exeter professor presented findings on July 3 about how many male freshwater fish in U.K. rivers are also displaying female characteristics, including the ability to produce eggs, because of chemicals, ranging from contraceptive pills to cleaning agent byproducts, that have been flushed down toilets.

FDA includes many opioids on flush list

The FDA says that drugs on the flush list pose a risk to children and pets. It also says the disposal of these select few medicines contributes to a small fraction of the total amount of medicine found in surface and drinking water.

"To date, scientists have found no evidence of harmful effects to human health from medicines in the environment," the FDA says, adding that people should check about local regulations.

For those involved in the Dartmouth-Hitchcock study, published in April in the Annals of Surgery, 5 percent of those surveyed reported using a designated collection site that was approved by the Drug Enforcement Administration, and 4 percent flushed the drugs down the toilet. Most still had the prescriptions or didn't remember what they had done with the drugs.

While the FDA primarily recommends that people first consider medicine takeback programs or DEA-authorized sites, flushing prescriptions can be an option.

Humphreys recommends disposing of prescriptions at designated sites, saying it should become as easy as getting rid of a Coke can.

“The trick is getting us all to do it,” Humphreys says, “like we recycle.”